Hair pickup tool

ABSTRACT

A hair pickup tool for picking up strands of hair as a bundle of hair includes a base portion, an upright stem portion extending upright from the base portion, and a stick-shaped pickup portion projecting from the upright stem portion. The stick-shaped pickup portion extends obliquely sideways from the upright stem portion toward the side opposite to the base portion at an angle of inclination of 10 to 70 degrees relative to a plane that is perpendicular to an upright extending direction of the upright stem portion. The stick-shaped pickup portion is provided with one or two or more hair holding protrusions protruding toward the base portion side.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hair pickup tool for picking upstrands of hair as a bundle of hair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When dyeing hair at home, beauty salons, and the like, there are caseswhere the hair is not entirely dyed but partially dyed in streaks, oftenreferred to as highlighting or lowlighting. In such cases generally amethod is adopted by use of a specialized tool in which claw portions inthe form of protrusions are provided at a leading end of a handleportion of a comb or at a leading end of a knitting needle-like stickmember. Bundles of hair each consisting of a plurality of strands ofhair are picked up as streaks by these claw portions, the bundles ofhair are held on other strands of hair by using a clip or the like asnecessary, and the bundles of hair are individually dyed.

Moreover, the operation of picking up the bundles of hair eachconsisting of a plurality of strands of hair as streaks by using theclaw portions provided at the leading end of the handle portion or thestick member is not easy and requires experience and skill. Often it isdifficult to pick up bundles of hair each consisting of an appropriateamount of hair through a single pickup operation. The result is unevenapplication of the dye and a undesirable appearance. For these reasons,a comb for hair coloring and a weaving comb have been developed whichmake it possible to pick up bundles of hair in a straightforward mannerwithout requiring experience and skill and which also make it possibleto pick up an appropriate amount of hair as bundles of hair (see PatentLiterature 1 and Patent Literature 2, for example).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Literature 1 JP 3027042U PatentLiterature 2 JP 2013-154152A SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a hair pickup tool for picking up strandsof hair as a bundle of hair, the hair pickup tool including a baseportion, an upright stem portion extending upright from the baseportion, and a stick-shaped pickup portion projecting from the uprightstem portion. The stick-shaped pickup portion extends obliquely sidewaysfrom the upright stem portion toward a side opposite to the base portionat an angle of inclination of 10 to 70 degrees relative to a plane thatis perpendicular to an upright extending direction of the upright stemportion. The stick-shaped pickup portion is provided with one or two ormore hair holding protrusions protruding toward the base portion side.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view of a hair pickup tool according to apreferred first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1(b) is a side view schematically showing a relevant portion of thehair pickup tool of the first embodiment.

FIG. 2(a) is a side view illustrating another form of a stick-shapedpickup portion and schematically showing a relevant portion.

FIG. 2(b) is a side view illustrating another form of the stick-shapedpickup portion and schematically showing a relevant portion.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining how a bundle of hair consisting ofstrands of hair is picked up by the stick-shaped pickup portion.

FIG. 4(a) is a perspective view of a hair pickup tool according to apreferred second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4(b) is a side view schematically showing a relevant portion of thehair pickup tool of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5(a) is a perspective view of a hair pickup tool according to apreferred third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5(b) is a side view schematically showing a relevant portion of thehair pickup tool of the third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a hair pickup tool according to a fourthembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a hair pickup tool according to a fifthembodiment.

FIG. 8(a) is a perspective view illustrating a hair pickup tool that isto be used attached to a container containing a hair treatment agent.

FIG. 8(b) is a cutaway perspective view taken along line A-A in FIG.8(a).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the above-described conventional comb for hair coloring and weavingcomb, with which bundles of hair are picked up, claw portions areprovided at leading end portions of some or all of a plurality of combteeth that are arranged parallel to one another in a comb portion, andstrands of hair are picked up by these claw portions. Thus, bundles ofhair can be widely picked up from a shallow section. However, the othercomb teeth become an obstruction, and it is difficult to efficientlypick up strands of hair in a deep section near the scalp as bundles ofhair by, for example, while sliding the leading ends of the comb teethalong the scalp, inserting the claw portions at the respective leadingends underneath strands of hair in a section near the scalp fromobliquely below.

The present invention relates to a hair pickup tool with which strandsof hair in a deep section near the scalp can be efficiently picked up asa bundle of hair.

The present invention provides a hair pickup tool for picking up strandsof hair as a bundle of hair. The hair pickup tool includes a baseportion, an upright stem portion extending upright from the baseportion, and a stick-shaped pickup portion projecting from the uprightstem portion. The stick-shaped pickup portion extends obliquely sidewaysfrom the upright stem portion toward a side opposite to the base portionat an angle of inclination of 10 degrees to 70 degrees (about 10 degreesto about 70 degrees) relative to a plane that is perpendicular to anupright extending direction of the upright stem portion. Thestick-shaped pickup portion is provided with one or two or more hairholding protrusions protruding toward the base portion side.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferredembodiments thereof, with reference to the drawings. A hair pickup tool10 according to a preferred first embodiment of the present inventionshown in FIG. 1(a) is used when partially dyeing hair by applying a hairdye, for example, which serves as a hair treatment agent, in producingstreaks to the hair. The hair pickup tool 10 of the first embodimentmakes it possible to gather and pick up an appropriate plurality ofstrands of hair in a streak as a bundle of hair, thereby facilitatingthe operation of partially dyeing the hair in a streak by applying thehair dye to the bundle of hair that has been picked up. The hair pickuptool 10 of the first embodiment has the function of making it possibleto efficiently pick up strands of hair 61 in a deep section near thescalp 60 as a bundle of hair by, for example, pressing a leading endportion 10 a of the hair pickup tool 10 against the scalp 60 (see FIG.3) or sliding the leading end portion 10 a along the scalp 60.

The hair pickup tool 10 of the first embodiment is a pickup tool forpicking up strands of hair 61 as a bundle of hair, and includes a baseportion 11, an upright stem portion 12 extending upright from the baseportion 11, and a stick-shaped pickup portion 13 projecting from theupright stem portion 12. As also shown in FIG. 1(b), the stick-shapedpickup portion 13 extends obliquely sideways from the upright stemportion 12 toward the side opposite to the base portion 11 at an angle θof inclination of 10 to 70 degrees relative to a plane P that isperpendicular to an upright extending direction X of the upright stemportion 12. The stick-shaped pickup portion 13 is provided with one ortwo or more hair holding protrusions 14 protruding toward the baseportion 11 side.

In the first embodiment, the base portion 11 is provided at an upper endportion of a handle portion 15 by which the hair pickup tool 10 is heldand operated, and the upright extending direction X of the upright stemportion 12 extends along the direction of the central axis of the handleportion 15 (in FIG. 1(b), the upright extending direction X of theupright stem portion 12 coincides with the direction of the central axisof the handle portion 15). That is to say, the base portion 11 includesthe handle portion 15 on the side opposite to the upright stem portion12, and the upright stem portion 12 extends upright along the directionof the central axis of the handle portion 15. Since the uprightextending direction X of the upright stem portion 12 runs along thedirection of the central axis of the handle portion 15, the ease ofoperation when picking up hair is improved. Moreover, the base portion11 is made of, similarly to the handle portion 15, a synthetic resin,such as a general-purpose resin including preferably polyethylene,polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, an acrylonitrile butadienestyrene (ABS) resin, and the like, a reprocessed resin, or aplant-derived resin including PLA, bioethanol, and the like. The handleportion 15 including the base portion 11 may be integrally molded withthe upright stem portion 12 and the stick-shaped pickup portion 13. Itis also possible to mold the base portion 11, the upright stem portion12, and the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 separately from the handleportion 15 and then fix the base portion 11 to a leading end portion ofthe handle portion 15, thereby forming the hair pickup tool 10 intowhich these portions are integrated. The handle portion 15 is formed tohave an elongated substantially cylindrical tube shape so that it iseasy to hold the handle portion 15 with fingers and perform theoperation of picking up a bundle of hair consisting of strands of hair61.

It should be noted that the upright extending direction X of the uprightstem portion 12 is not necessarily required to extend along thedirection of the central axis of the handle portion 15, and may alsointersect the direction of the central axis of the handle portion 15 atan angle of for example, 30 degrees, for example.

In the first embodiment, the base portion 11 includes an end surfaceplate 11 a that is disposed at a leading end of the handle portion 15and that has a circular plate shape, and the upright stem portion 12extends upright further in the direction of the leading end from the endsurface plate 11 a. It should be noted that a configuration may also beadopted in which the base portion 11 does not include the end surfaceplate 11 a, and the leading end portion of the handle portion 15 doublesas the base portion 11. In addition, a configuration may also be adoptedin which a hemispherical base portion 11 is provided at the leading endportion of the handle portion 15, and the upright stem portion 12 isprovided on a top portion thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the upright stem portion 12 isintegrally molded with the base portion 11 by using the same syntheticresin as that used for the base portion 11. In the first embodiment, theupright stem portion 12 extends upright to a height of, for example, 5mm to 20 mm from the end surface plate 11 a in a direction that isparallel to the direction of the central axis of the base portion 11.The upright stem portion 12 has a vertically elongated, substantiallyisosceles triangular side-surface shape, and is provided extendingupright with its central position shifted from the center of the endsurface plate 11 a to the projecting side of the stick-shaped pickupportion 13. A configuration may also be adopted in which, asschematically shown in FIG. 1(b), the upright stem portion 12 does nothave a substantially isosceles triangular side-surface shape, but ratherextends upright while having a uniform cross-sectional shape like a rod.The cross-sectional area of the upright stem portion 12 in the plane Pthat is perpendicular to the upright extending direction X of theupright stem portion 12 is preferably not more than half the area of thebase portion 11 in plane view.

The stick-shaped pickup portion 13 is formed by using the same syntheticresin as that used for the base portion 11, and projects obliquelysideways from a leading end portion of the upright stem portion 12 for alength of, for example, 2 mm to 15 mm (about 2 mm to about 15 mm) whilebeing inclined to the side opposite to the base portion 11 at apredetermined angle θ of inclination. Here, the projecting length of thestick-shaped pickup portion 13 correlates with the width of a bundle ofhair consisting of strands of hair 61 to be picked up by the hair pickuptool 10. In view of this, the projecting length of the stick-shapedpickup portion 13 is, for example, preferably 2 mm to 15 mm, morepreferably 2 mm to 10 mm, even more preferably 3 mm to 8 mm, andparticularly preferably 4 mm to 6 mm. The flexural modulus of thesynthetic resin forming the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 is preferably300 to 3500 MPa in the case that a general-purpose resin is used, or ispreferably 500 to 2500 MPa in the case that linear low-densitypolyethylene or an ABS resin is used. From the standpoint of the easewith which the stick-shaped pickup portion can get under the hair andmaking it easy to obtain a reaction force that counteracts a force bywhich the hair is pulled in the direction of the scalp after the hairhas been collected, the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 preferably has across-sectional area of 0.2 to 3 mm² and more preferably has across-sectional area of 0.2 to 2 mm².

Moreover, in the first embodiment, the angle θ of inclination of thestick-shaped pickup portion 13, which is inclined obliquely sideways tothe side opposite to the base portion 11, relative to the plane P thatis perpendicular to the upright extending direction X of the uprightstem portion 12 is 10 degrees to 70 degrees. From the standpoint of theease with which the stick-shaped pickup portion can get under the hair(i.e., the ease of operation when inserting the leading end portion, inwhich the hair holding protrusion 14 is provided, of the stick-shapedpickup portion 13 underneath the strands of hair 61 in a section nearthe scalp 60 from obliquely below), the angle θ of inclination of thestick-shaped pickup portion 13 is preferably not less than 10 degrees,more preferably not less than 20 degrees, and even more preferably notless than 30 degrees. From the standpoint of making it easy for strandsof hair 61 that are riding on the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 to beheld on the stick-shaped pickup portion 13, the angle θ of inclinationof the stick-shaped pickup portions 13 is preferably not more than 70degrees, more preferably not more than 65 degrees, and even morepreferably not more than 60 degrees.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1(b), the stick-shaped pickupportion 13 is provided with two hair holding protrusions 14 in theleading end portion and an intermediate portion, respectively, of thestick-shaped pickup portion 13, the hair holding protrusions 14protruding, for example, toward the base portion 11 side to a height of0.5 mm to 6 mm and having a triangular side-surface shape. As shown inFIG. 2(a), one hair holding protrusion 14 may be provided only in theleading end portion of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13.Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2(b), three or more (four in FIG. 2(b))hair holding protrusions 14 may be provided in portions, preferablyincluding the leading end portion, of the stick-shaped pickup portion13.

Moreover, the protruding height of the hair holding protrusions 14protruding from the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 toward the baseportion 11 side is preferably 0.1 to 3 mm and more preferably 0.2 to 2mm.

Since two or more hair holding protrusions 14 protruding toward the baseportion 11 side of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 are provided, theload that is applied to the hair holding protrusions 14 by strands ofhair 61 can be distributed, and therefore, strands of hair 61 that havebeen picked up can be prevented from easily coming out in a lateraldirection. In the case where the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 isprovided with two or more hair holding protrusions 14, the plurality ofhair holding protrusions 14 may be adjacent to each other. However, ifthe hair holding protrusions 14 are arranged so as to be appropriatelyspaced apart from each other, strands of hair 61, of a bundle of hair,attempting to come out in the lateral direction can be supported in asubstantially uniformly distributed manner. Therefore, a bundle of hairconsisting of strands of hair 61 can be more stably picked up. In viewof this, the plurality of hair holding protrusions 14 are preferablyarranged so as to be spaced apart from each other by a distance of 0.5mm to 4 mm and more preferably arranged spaced apart from each other bya distance of 1 mm to 3 mm.

In the first embodiment, the hair holding protrusions 14 protrudingtoward the base portion 11 side of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13have a triangular side-surface shape, and a surface 14 a of eachtriangular-shaped hair holding protrusion 14 on the upright stem portion12 side is an inclined surface that is inclined to the base portion 11side at an angle θ′ of inclination relative to the plane P that isperpendicular to the upright extending direction X of the upright stemportion 12. The angle θ′ of inclination of the surface 14 a of the hairholding protrusion 14 on the upright stem portion 12 side, the surface14 a being inclined to the base portion 11 side relative to the plane Pthat is perpendicular to the upright extending direction X of theupright stem portion 12, may be less than 90° (see FIG. 1(b)), or may bemore than 90° (see FIG. 2(b)), from the plane P that is perpendicular tothe upright extending direction X of the upright stem portion 12. Sincethe surface 14 a of each hair holding protrusion 14 on the upright stemportion 12 side is an inclined surface that is inclined to the baseportion 11 side, strands of hair that have been collected can be easilyheld on the stick-shaped pickup portion 13. In view of this, the angleθ′ of inclination of the surface 14 a of each hair holding protrusion 14on the upright stem portion 12 side is preferably 10 to 135°, morepreferably 10 to 90°, even more preferably 30 to 90°, and particularlypreferably 30 to 70° relative to the plane P that is perpendicular tothe upright extending direction X of the upright stem portion 12.

With the hair pickup tool 10 of the first embodiment that is configuredas described above, strands of hair 61 in a deep section near the scalp60 can be efficiently scooped up (picked up) as a bundle of hair.

That is to say, the hair pickup tool 10 of the first embodiment includesthe base portion 11, the upright stem portion 12 extending upright fromthe base portion 11, and the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 projectingfrom the upright stem portion 12, the stick-shaped pickup portion 13extending obliquely sideways from the upright stem portion 12 toward theside opposite to the base portion 11 at an angle θ of inclination of 10to 70 degrees relative to the plane P that is perpendicular to theupright extending direction X of the upright stem portion 12, and thestick-shaped pickup portion 13 being provided with one or two or morehair holding protrusions 14 protruding toward the base portion 11 side.

Therefore, according to the first embodiment, if a user holds the handleportion 15 and slides the upright stem portion 12 and the stick-shapedpickup portion 13 along the scalp 60 in the projecting direction of thestick-shaped pickup portion 13 while pressing the leading end portion ofthe stick-shaped pickup portion 13 against the scalp 60 as shown in FIG.3, for example, since the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 points in thedirection of the scalp 60 on the side opposite to the base portion 11from the stem portion 12, the stem portion 12 does not become anobstruction, so that the leading end portion, in which the hair holdingprotrusion 14 is provided, of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 can beinserted underneath strands of hair 61 in a deep section near the scalp60 from obliquely below, and the strands of hair 61 in the deep sectionnear the scalp 60 can be efficiently picked up as a bundle of hair.Moreover, since the protruding height of the hair holding protrusions 14protruding from the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 is not excessivelyhigh, the strands of hair 61 easily ride onto the stick-shaped pickupportion 13 whose leading end portion is pressed against the scalp 60.The stick-shaped pickup portion 13 extends obliquely sideways relativeto the upright stem portion 12, that is, at an angle that is less thanvertical. This configuration, in combination with the effect of the hairholding protrusions 14, enables the strands of hair 61 riding on thestick-shaped pickup portion 13 to be easily held on the stick-shapedpickup portion 13.

Moreover, in the first embodiment, since the cross-sectional area of theupright stem portion 12 in the plane P that is perpendicular to theupright extending direction X of the upright stem portion 12 ispreferably not more than half the area of the base portion 11 in planeview, the thickness of the upright stem portion 12 is reduced to acertain extent, and accordingly, the ease of operation when picking uphair can be improved. Here, it is preferable that the cross-sectionalarea of the upright stem portion 12 in the plane P that is perpendicularto the upright extending direction X of the upright stem portion 12 isnot more than half the area of the base portion 11 in plane view,regardless of the position of the plane P with respect to the uprightextending direction X.

As described above, with the hair pickup tool 10 of the firstembodiment, the ease of introducing strands of hair 61 and the ease ofholding the introduced strands of hair 61 are excellent, and thus, abundle of hair consisting of strands of hair 61 can be easily picked up,so that hair can be efficiently picked up from strands of hair 61 in adeep section near the scalp 60. It should be noted that the amount ofstrands of hair 61 to be picked up as a bundle of hair can be easilyadjusted by changing the height of each hair holding protrusion 14provided on the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 and the length of thestick-shaped pickup portion 13.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show a hair pickup tool 20 according to a preferredsecond embodiment of the present invention. In the hair pickup tool 20of the second embodiment, the form of stick-shaped pickup portions 23 aand 23 b differs from the form of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 ofthe hair pickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment. Withregard to the hair pickup tool 20 of the second embodiment, constituentportions that are different from those of the hair pickup tool 10 of theabove-described first embodiment will be mainly described, whileconstituent portions that are the same as those of the hair pickup tool10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals,and their description is omitted. The description regarding the hairpickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment is appropriatelyapplied to those constituent portions that will not be specificallymentioned.

In the hair pickup tool 20 of the second embodiment, a stick-shapedpickup portion 23 b which is at least one (one) of a plurality (two) ofstick-shaped pickup portions 23 a and 23 b projects obliquely sidewaysat an angle θ of inclination that is different from the angle θ ofinclination of the stick-shaped pickup portion 23 a which is the other(the other one) of the plurality (two) of stick-shaped pickup portions23 a and 23 b. The angle θ of inclination of stick-shaped pickup portion23 b and the angle θ of inclination of the stick-shaped pickup portion23 a are the angle of inclination relative to the plane that isperpendicular to the upright extending direction X of the upright stemportion 12 In addition, the angle θ of inclination of the stick-shapedpickup portion 23 b that is disposed at the leading end side of theupright stem portion 12 is larger than the angle θ of inclination of thestick-shaped pickup portion 23 a that is disposed at the base endportion side (base portion 11 side) of the upright stem portion 12.

Since the stick-shaped pickup portion 23 b, which is at least one, butnot all, of the plurality of stick-shaped pickup portions 23 a and 23 b,projects obliquely sideways at an angle θ of inclination that isdifferent from the angle θ of inclination of the stick-shaped pickupportion 23 a, which is the other of the plurality, no matter how thestick-shaped pickup portions 23 a and 23 b are applied to the scalp 60,and even when the stick-shaped pickup portions 23 a and 23 b are usedfrom various angles, a bundle of hair consisting of strands of hair 61can be stably picked up. In addition, since the angle θ of inclinationof the stick-shaped pickup portion 23 b that is disposed at the leadingend side of the upright stem portion 12 is larger than the angle θ ofinclination of the stick-shaped pickup portion 23 a that is disposed atthe base end portion side of the upright stem portion 12, the projectingdirection of the stick-shaped pickup portion 23 b that is disposedclosest to the leading end side of the upright stem portion 12 isclosest to vertical, and the closer to the base end portion side astick-shaped pickup portion is located, the closer to flat theprojecting direction of that stick-shaped pickup portion, that is, thestick-shaped pickup portion 23 a. Thus, even when the hair pickup tool20 is pressed against the scalp 60 at various angles during use, strandsof hair 61 can be more stably picked up as a bundle of hair.

FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) show a hair pickup tool 30 according to a preferredthird embodiment of the present invention. In the hair pickup tool 30 ofthe third embodiment, the form of stick-shaped pickup portions 33 a and33 b differs from the form of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 of thehair pickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment. With regardto the hair pickup tool 30 of the third embodiment, constituent portionsthat are different from those of the hair pickup tool 10 of theabove-described first embodiment will be mainly described, whileconstituent portions that are the same as those of the hair pickup tool10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals,and their description is omitted. The description regarding the hairpickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment is appropriatelyapplied to those constituent portions that will not be specificallymentioned.

In the hair pickup tool 30 of the third embodiment, a plurality ofstick-shaped pickup portions 33 a and 33 b project from the sameposition with respect to the circumferential direction of the uprightstem portion 12 while being spaced apart from each other in the uprightextending direction of the upright stem portion 12. That is to say, inthe third embodiment, four gently-inclined stick-shaped pickup portions33 a in the intermediate portion and one steeply-inclined stick-shapedpickup portion 33 b in the leading end portion are provided, thestick-shaped pickup portions projecting from the same position withrespect to the circumferential direction of the upright stem portion 12in such a manner as to be lined up in the vertical direction.

Since the plurality of stick-shaped pickup portions 33 a and 33 b arespaced apart from each other in the upright extending direction of theupright stem portion 12 and project from the same position with respectto the circumferential direction while being arranged in a single linein the vertical direction, a gap having a considerable space is formedbetween the stick-shaped pickup portions 33 a and 33 b that are adjacentto each other in the vertical direction. Consequently, the maximumamount of strands of hair 61 to be picked up can be limited, and alsostrands of hair 61 that are riding in the gaps suppress verticalrotation of the strands of hair 61, so that the strands of hair 61 canbe prevented from easily coming out in an up-down direction.

FIG. 6 shows a hair pickup tool 40 according to a preferred fourthembodiment of the present invention. In the hair pickup tool 40 of thefourth embodiment, the form of stick-shaped pickup portions 43 a and 43b differs from the form of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 of thehair pickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment. With regardto the hair pickup tool 40 of the fourth embodiment, constituentportions that are different from those of the hair pickup tool 10 of theabove-described first embodiment will be mainly described, whileconstituent portions that are the same as those of the hair pickup tool10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals,and their description is omitted. The description regarding the hairpickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment is appropriatelyapplied to those constituent portions that will not be specificallymentioned.

In the hair pickup tool 40 of the fourth embodiment, a plurality oflined-up pickup portions 44 each constituted by a plurality ofstick-shaped pickup portions 43 a and 43 b projecting from the sameposition with respect to the circumferential direction of the uprightstem portion 12 are provided so as to be spaced apart from each other inthe circumferential direction of the upright stem portion 12. That is tosay, in the fourth embodiment, three lined-up pickup portions 44 spacedapart from each other by equal angles of 120° in the circumferentialdirection of the upright stem portion 12 are provided. Each of thelined-up pickup portions 44 includes four gently-inclined stick-shapedpickup portions 43 a in the intermediate portion and onesteeply-inclined stick-shaped pickup portion 43 b in the leading endportion. The stick-shaped pickup portions project from the same positionwith respect to the circumferential direction in such a manner as to belined up in the vertical direction.

Since the plurality of lined-up pickup portions 44, each of whichincludes the plurality of stick-shaped pickup portions 43 a and 43 b,are provided so as to be spaced apart from each other in thecircumferential direction of the upright stem portion 12, when the hairpickup tool 40 is rotated during use, some of the stick-shaped pickupportions 43 a and 43 b act to restrict strands of hair 61, and otherstick-shaped pickup portions 43 a and 43 b of the stick-shaped pickupportions 43 a and 43 b act to penetrate into the strands of hair 61, sothat deeper strands of hair 61 can be picked up.

FIG. 7 shows a hair pickup tool 50 according to a preferred fifthembodiment of the present invention. In the hair pickup tool 50 of thefifth embodiment, the form of stick-shaped pickup portions 53 a and 53 bdiffers from the form of the stick-shaped pickup portion 13 of the hairpickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment. With regard tothe hair pickup tool 50 of the fifth embodiment, constituent portionsthat are different from those of the hair pickup tool 10 of theabove-described first embodiment will be mainly described, whileconstituent portions that are the same as those of the hair pickup tool10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals,and their description is omitted. The description regarding the hairpickup tool 10 of the above-described first embodiment is appropriatelyapplied to those constituent portions that will not be specificallymentioned.

The hair pickup tool 50 of the fifth embodiment includes at least onejuxtaposed pickup portion 55 (in the fifth embodiment, two juxtaposedpickup portions 55 that are arranged back-to-back). The juxtaposedpickup portion 55 includes a pair of lined-up pickup portions 54 eachincluding four gently-inclined stick-shaped pickup portions 53 a in theintermediate portion and one steeply-inclined stick-shaped pickupportion 53 b in the leading end portion. The pair of lined-up pickupportions 54 projects in the same direction, and preferably are arrangedside-by-side so as to be parallel to each other.

That is to say, in the fifth embodiment, an upright stem portion 52extending upright from the base portion 11 includes, as also shown inFIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), a pair of upright plate portions 52 a that arearranged so as to face each other and a pair of connecting plateportions 52 b that connect lateral side edge portions of the pair ofupright plate portions 52 a on both lateral sides and that have a lowerheight than the upright plate portions 52 a. A total of four lined-uppickup portions 54 are provided as two pairs, the lined-up pickupportions 54 being disposed along respective lateral side edge portionson both lateral sides of surfaces of the pair of upright plate portions52 a, the surfaces being on the opposite side to opposing surfaces ofthe pair of upright plate portions 52 a and being arranged back-to-back.Each pair of lined-up pickup portions 54 provided on a corresponding oneof the upright plate portions 52 a are arranged side-by-side so as toextend parallel to each other and project in the same direction. Thus,two juxtaposed pickup portions 55 are formed, and the two juxtaposedpickup portions 55 are arranged in back-to-back positions on the uprightstem portion 52 so as to face in the opposite directions.

Since at least one juxtaposed pickup portion 55, in which a pair oflined-up pickup portions 54 is arranged side-by-side so as to project inthe same direction, is provided on the upright stem portion 52, thestick-shaped pickup portions 53 a and 53 b are arranged parallel orsubstantially parallel to one another. Thus, after strands of hair 61have been picked up, the picked-up linear strands of hair 61 can berestricted at three points, that is, the stick-shaped pickup portions 53a and 53 b of one of the lined-up pickup portions 54 of the juxtaposedpickup portion 55, the hair holding protrusions 14 provided on thesestick-shaped pickup portions 53 a and 53 b, and the stick-shaped pickupportions 53 a and 53 b of the other lined-up pickup portion 54.Therefore, the effect of holding the strands of hair 61 can be furtherimproved.

Moreover, in the hair pickup tool 50 of the fifth embodiment, the insideof the upright stem portion 52 is a hollow portion surrounded on allsides by the pair of upright plate portions 52 a and the pair ofconnecting plate portions 52 b. This hollow portion enables the uprightstem portion 52 to also be configured to include a treatment agentreserving portion 56 that is in communication with a containercontaining a hair treatment agent.

That is to say, a hair treatment agent can be fed into and stored in thehollow portion of the upright stem portion 52 by, for example, providingthe base portion 11 with an attachment skirt portion 11 b and attachingthat portion to a neck portion of the container containing the hairtreatment agent, and in this manner, the upright stem portion 52 canalso be made to function as a portion for applying a hair dye to thepicked-up strands of hair 61.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to theforegoing embodiments, and various changes can be made thereto. Forexample, the hair holding protrusions protruding toward the base portionside of the stick-shaped pickup portion are not necessarily required tohave a triangular side-surface shape. For example, surfaces of the hairholding protrusions that are located on the opposite side to the uprightstem portion side may be curved surfaces or may have any other shapes.Moreover, the hair holding protrusions may also be protrusions (e.g.,hook-like, claw-like, etc.) having any other various shapes.

1. A hair pickup tool for picking up strands of hair as a bundle ofhair, the hair pickup tool comprising: a base portion; an upright stemportion extending upright from the base portion; and a stick-shapedpickup portion projecting from the upright stem portion, wherein thestick-shaped pickup portion extends obliquely sideways from the uprightstem portion toward a side opposite to the base portion at an angle ofinclination of 10 degrees to 70 degrees relative to a plane that isperpendicular to an upright extending direction of the upright stemportion, and the stick-shaped pickup portion is provided with one or twoor more hair holding protrusions protruding toward the base portionside.
 2. The hair pickup tool according to claim 1, wherein the hairholding protrusion is provided in at least a leading end portion of thestick-shaped pickup portion.
 3. The hair pickup tool according to claim1, wherein a plurality of the stick-shaped pickup portions are provided,the plurality of stick-shaped pickup portions being spaced apart fromeach other in the upright extending direction of the upright stemportion and projecting from the same position with respect to acircumferential direction of the upright stem portion.
 4. The hairpickup tool according to claim 3, wherein at least one, but not all, ofthe plurality of stick-shaped pickup portions projects obliquelysideways at an angle of inclination that is different from an angle ofinclination of the other of the stick-shaped pickup portions relative tothe plane that is perpendicular to the upright extending direction ofthe upright stem portion.
 5. The hair pickup tool according to claim 3,wherein a plurality of lined-up pickup portions each constituted by aplurality of the stick-shaped pickup portions projecting from the sameposition with respect to the circumferential direction of the uprightstem portion are provided so as to be spaced apart from each other inthe circumferential direction of the upright stem portion.
 6. The hairpickup tool according to claim 5, wherein at least one juxtaposed pickupportion is provided in which a pair of the lined-up pickup portions arearranged side-by-side so as to project in the same direction.
 7. Thehair pickup tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stick-shapedpickup portion projects from the upright stem portion for a length of 2mm to 15 mm.
 8. The hair pickup tool according to claim 1, wherein theupright stem portion includes a treatment agent reserving portion thatis in communication with a container containing a hair treatment agent.9. The hair pickup tool according to claim 1, wherein the base portionincludes a handle portion on a side opposite to the upright stemportion, and the upright stem portion extends upright along a directionof the central axis of the handle portion.
 10. The hair pickup toolaccording to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional area of the upright stemportion in the plane that is perpendicular to the upright extendingdirection of the upright stem portion is not more than half an area ofthe base portion in plane view.